Recent reports indicate that the Los Angeles Lakers would like to trade for veteran forward Trevor Ariza. However, he is not their only target.
According to Sean Deveney, the front office in Los Angeles currently has their eyes on Orlando Magic wing Terrence Ross and Miami Heat wing Wayne Ellington.
Deveney explained the value of these two players in particular (via Sporting News):
“Miami’s season continues to look fruitless [and] Ellington’s name has come up more in trade talks. The Heat would be open to moving Ellington to a playoff team for a first-round pick, according to sources… Another target is Magic forward Terrence Ross, but with the 27-year-old averaging 14.1 points on a career-best 56.8 true shooting percentage, his value might be out of the Lakers’ range.”
Ross would likely cost Los Angeles one of their younger assets, considering Orlando would want developing players and/or draft picks in return. Now with LeBron James on the Lakers and the team playing well, their selections may be too low to pry Ross away from the Magic.
While they are rumored to be dangling Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in hopes of land Ariza (perhaps in a three-team deal), it’s unclear if that would be enough for someone like Ross, who is important for Orlando’s offense.
Ellington, however, would presumably be significantly cheaper to acquire via trade. Both he and Ross both have expiring contracts, but Ellington is older and he already has some familiarity with the Lakers. He averaged nearly 26 minutes during 65 games for Los Angeles back in the 2014-15 season.
There was reportedly mutual interest between Ellington and the Lakers over the offseason, but he ultimately opted to re-sign with Miami on a one-year deal worth $6.3 million. If the Lakers could get him, it’d be a deal worth considering – even if it means using their first-rounder.
But other players who have been way more productive may become available at that price.